Applying for summer vacation law placements as a mature student

[GerardusMercator]

Calling all solicitors (or any that would be happy to lend me a hand anyway!)…

I want to retrain as a solicitor and having looked into this, it seems that applying for summer vacation placements is the best way to start this process, with many firms awarding TCs from this.

The good bits first…. I have top A-levels, a First Class Degree in English Literature and a Masters Degree in Women and Literature in English. The latter was fully funded as I was one of the top Eng Lit Graduates of my year (non Oxbridge) and applied for funding through a competitive national graduate scheme with the Arts and Humanities Research Board and was fully funded with a living allowance on top. I won both academic prizes available for academic excellence, in the first and third year of my degree.

Following university I managed an Arts project for a leading mental health charity for 5 years before retraining as a primary school teacher and working abroad for several years.

Then came the first of my children and another career change. I set up my own online bridal business and have successfully run this for the last 10 years. It has been fantastic and flexible (something that I’ve been grateful for over the years) but over the last year or so I’ve wanted something a bit more- more interaction with colleagues (I work solo) and more intellectually stimulating work. This led me to consider retraining in the law. This interest was piqued when dealing with a particularly difficult neighbour (the full details of which I won’t go into here). This incident necessitated me thoroughly researching a particular area of land law. I enjoyed the law side of this, in-spite of the obvious stress of dealing with the neighbour!

I know my route is a highly unconventional one, as I am after all a 41 year old mum of two, and no fresh faced graduate.

All the companies I have looked at so far who run summer vacation schemes are highly competitive. I know no one who works in the law, so wanted to pick the Mumsnet hive mind for tips on what to include in my application, what I might be asked at interview or any other useful insights into the process that you could offer.

Thank you in advance!

Bump! Anyone?

‘You know … I think you’d prefer the Bar (if you could weather the financial insecurity). The tone and content of your OP suggests you’d hate being junior to, and supervised by, people you feel are your intellectual inferiors. And you clearly liked being self-employed and had the skills to thrive. Also, chambers like prizes.

Have you considered becoming a barrister instead?

Hi OP. I'm a solicitor - I also did Eng Lit degree and qualified at a magic circle firm about 10 years ago.

The system has changed since I applied for Vac Schemes - I had to do the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC). They've got rid of these now and I think they're called the SQE? I think you will need to do both parts which means two years of training. You would need to fund this unless you get a firm to sponsor you (ie you get a place on a Vac Scheme and a training contract at the end of it).

In terms of what to put on the application forms, it's difficult to advise because the firms differ massively. Some have a loooong application form and others I recall just liked a CV and covering letter. What I would do is research the firms you like the look of and reflect this in yoir application approach. For example, don't apply to a corporate firm if you want to specialise in family law. Don't apply to a firm specialising in family law if you are set on IP etc etc.

This might seem strange but If I were a recruiter I might be put off by the diversity of your experience - you've already been a teacher and a business owner in a completely different industry - you will need to convince them that you will stick around after qualification and not change jobs again once they have spent time and money training you.

Finally bear in mind the hours (especially while training) can be pretty family in-friendly 😬

Oh my! I did not mean to come across like that at all- point noted and an interesting observation though. I've never really worked in an area where degree class / academics has mattered before and am actually not a great big academic snob at all (honest 😆). I actually grew up first in care and then in a happy family where I was the first to go to Uni, so academics was never forced, it was just something I was pretty strong at.

Regarding the Barrister route, I've read it's even more insecure and I find the thought of it slightly daunting to be honest.

Thank you. That's really interesting. I completely agree regarding my work background and understand it's pretty unconventional (and that's putting it mildly).

I'm not at all fixed in which area of law I would like to work in so further research is definitely needed there. Do you know if firms would expect some other form of work experience in law before applying for a summer vacation placement?

Solicitor here, although it's many years since I did vac schemes. I have interviewed TC applicants though. Competency based interviews are very common- if you google, you'll find a lot of advice on how to prepare.

This might seem strange but If I were a recruiter I might be put off by the diversity of your experience - you've already been a teacher and a business owner in a completely different industry - you will need to convince them that you will stick around after qualification and not change jobs again once they have spent time and money training you.

I agree with this. If I were looking at your application, I'd be worried that you would be likely to get bored and move on quickly. Training trainees is very expensive and only worth doing if they stay on for some years. So I'd look for ways to demonstrate that this is a long-standing and serious career plan. Your business experience is good- the most common issue with trainee candidates, IME, is a tendency to treat law as an academic exercise, rather than as a way of solving client's problems. If you can show genuine commercial understanding, this puts you ahead of a lot of applicants- it would be worth thinking through some of the legal issues around your business area, I'd definitely ask about that (this might be something that you could use to demonstrate a long-standing interest in the law).

It shouldn't be the case but you may find recruiters are worried that, due to your experience, you're unlikely to want to do the long hours and be managed by someone younger than you. So I'd think about how you can preempt this.

With regards to the SQE, I had noticed that things were currently in flux whilst researching online. The SQE appears to be the same length as the GDP and LPC combined, ie. two years. It would be wonderful if I could secure a summer vacation place in the ultimate hope of proving myself enough to be considered for a TC.

I wasn’t trying to suggest you’re an unpleasant person, at all. Call it gut instinct - I think you’d find the Bar a more satisfying adventure. (And I rarely say that.)

Great advice - thank you. I can see why I may appear a liability and I realise that it must be a huge cost for the law firms to pay training fees. I really need to think about the best way of presenting my employment history in a positive light. Thank you for your point about law being more about dealing with people / clients than a purely academic exercise. Dealing with sometimes challenging clients is definitely something I have lot of experience in from my bridal business.

I am a corporate partner and have been doing grad recruitment for my firm for about 7 years. I also had a “non-standard” route into law.

Agree with PPs that the biggest thing is your work history, so you need to have rock solid answers on your understanding of the role and commitment to it. I’ve taken on some very interesting older trainees, and having a history in business so demonstrating you understand what clients need from their lawyers is a real differentiator.

it’s ok not to know what you want to specialise in yet, but you do need to have a good understanding of the kind of works the firm does, the culture and it’s approach so you can talk about why you are interested in them, and you’d be a good fit/ value add to them.

Do your research- chambers, legal 500, legal cheek , even rollonfriday- might also be worth talking to the career service at your old uni, or if you’ve used a firm then ask them- they may be willing to give you access to their trainees.

It can be brutal for family life though and a bit thankless, so make sure you want to do it.

I am an inveterate researcher so will definitely carefully look into each individual firm I apply to. Thanks for the tips of where to look- that's very useful.

Would you be expecting to see specific law experience on a candidate's CV prior to then applying for the summer vacation scheme?

*them

Aren't most of those vacations schemes more like "let's see how an office works"

I would think it would be very odd as a mature student with extensive work experience.

I'd look for other avenues for experience. Attend relevant workshops/network events. Use any contacts you have/work linked in.

I'd not pay for any courses without a training contract in the end, just too risky.

Several of the firms I have looked at only recruit people for Training Contracts who have attended vacation schemes. It is a 'long interview' if you like.

I'm a lawyer at an international firm and qualified about 10 years ago. We had a few older trainees in my intake but around the 30 mark. I think your commercial background would be viewed positively provided you have solid reasons for wanting to go into the profession.

This might sound odd but the older trainees did find it a bit awkward as they were usually miles older than the NQs and their supervisors. You need to be aware you'll be doing a lot of grunt work to begin with. Similarly on a vac scheme, the trainees who are normally heavily involved in the process for feeding back and running assessments are likely to be 22-25. This is just based on my experiences - it may be different now.

It's not insurmountable obviously but something to consider. Also it's been said already, but working hours are a killer the first few years. I find it tricky enough to balance responsibilities as a parent now with working hours but I can thankfully delegate a fair whack now. It'll be harder to do that in the early years for you so keep that in mind. Good luck!

Not necessarily, but that’s why you need to be able to show a really good understanding of the industry and that you’re committed.

Don’t become a lawyer because you enjoyed researching a specific area of law. There is actually relatively little legal research involved in most areas of legal practice, especially as a solicitor. A lot of law is transactional and the same process is repeated over and over - yes there will be legally tricky/novel bits to each transaction but these will be handled by the senior lawyers or a QC.

Lots of women on MN seem to be drawn to retraining in law. At the same time, there are lots of unhappy lawyers or ex lawyers on MN looking for alternative career ideas. Draw your own conclusions!

From an ex lawyer.

This is why I felt the OP might prefer the Bar!

(Though I’m happy to assure you it was never the QC doing the actual research for any case. Was the lowly rent fodder …)